Blu Sushi, Fort Myers, Estero and Naples (pictured) |
» Blu Sushi, Fort Myers, Naples and Estero. Drinks are as clever and deftly crafted as a makimono hand roll at the home-grown chainlet. The classics are here, some with a new twist (fresh ginger muddled in the cosmo), but the best is new-fashioned savory — crisp gin with cucumber and mint.
» Club 50 at Viceroy, Miami. Penthouse cocktails are as sharp as Philippe Starck’s decor. Credit Liquid Relations, bar gurus from Portland, Ore., who’ve reinvented hotel drinking at Skybar and Sunset Lounge too. Here they pressed, pureed and muddled blood orange, sage, honeydew and cucumber into zingers for celeb chef Michael Psilakis.
» Park Plaza Gardens, Winter Park. Park Avenue’s sidewalk scene is lively, abetted by chef-driven eating and drinking. Outdoors or inside the patio garden, the margarita is all natural — from agave nectar to fresh-squeezed lime juice and aged Partida tequila.
Morimoto, Boca Raton |
» Morimoto, Boca Raton. Iron chef Masaharu Morimoto puts the bar back in sushi bar; actually it’s stocked with his own aged sakes, punchy shochu liquor and soba beers, luxuries that cost up to $65 a glass. For iron cocktails, there’s orange vodka and elderflower liqueur with pureed lychee and cranberry juice. The new bar is a blast of futuristic Japan in the 1926 pink palace of Mizner Mediterranean, which has many bars, decks and cozies for guests.
» Bosendorfer Lounge at the Grand Bohemian, Orlando. The rare imperial grand piano (one of two in the world) that is the namesake, remarkable sketches by Gustav Klimt and a kaleidoscope of contemporary art are lure enough. Downtown’s artiest hotel mixes power locals and visiting celebs with a long list of martinis, wines, cognacs, single malts and beers. Most tempting are champagne cocktails like the grand Crescendo,
bubbly and fresh O.J. crowned with
Grand Marnier. Restaurant BT, Tampa. B.T. Nguyen had a sleek bar when she opened and has reinvented cocktails
and bar snacks at warp speed ever since.
The bar’s dirty martini just got dirtier
with aged balsamic and bleu cheese.
A new drink blends three jasmine teas
and chrysanthemum flower.
Bistro Aix, Jacksonville |
» Bistro Aix, Jacksonville. Chef Tom Gray brought the bar chef concept to town and installed new cocktail fun in the sleek, all-white Onyx. He’s partial to a mojito with blood orange juice when it’s in season and in perfect sweet-sour balance. Barflies can dig into Aix’s French appetizers and local cheeses too.
» La Marea at The Tides, Miami Beach. In its renewed glory, this old Deco hotel thrills foodies with Mediterranean fish and house-made pasta. Drinkies, however, are thrilled by the fruit “popsicles” swirling in cocktails. There’s
a mint one in Beaches Peaches. [ previous ] 1 2 |
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